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baldwinme40's review against another edition
4.0
Great things about this book:
-non-white female protagonist who is not small or skinny or shy or attractive. She is brash, rebellious, angry, and ready to kick some butt, and not in the just-the-right-degree-of-fiery-but-still-flawless way, like she takes it all the way and it's really refreshing and fun to read from her point of view. She's also fearful sometimes and distrustful of others and confident in her abilities. Plus, she's a pirate. I love her a lot okay
- mysterious suffering assassin with a heart of gold who is just the right amount of self-loathing and badass. Exactly what I am looking for 10/10 give me more
- cool magic system! but protag is actually not magical! (by her own estimation, anyway)
- did I mention Pirates !!!!! !!! ! and assassins!!
- honestly I want to learn more about this world, though I can see how worldbuilding would have been irrelevant to the plot at most points
- rival romance of sorts between two characters who are, ironically, trying to get rid of each other which doesn't so much kick off in this book (fine by me but if you're looking for makeouts look elsewhere)
- basically I loved this book. It's easy to read, easy plot to follow, easy to love the characters, suspenseful, magical, just? ? ? all around awesome! I feel like the not-amazing writing and simplicity doesn't really qualify it for 5 stars, it's not the sort that leaves you in awe or feeling like you learned or grew a lot but dangit it's such a fun ride and I'm starting the next one immediately!
-non-white female protagonist who is not small or skinny or shy or attractive. She is brash, rebellious, angry, and ready to kick some butt, and not in the just-the-right-degree-of-fiery-but-still-flawless way, like she takes it all the way and it's really refreshing and fun to read from her point of view. She's also fearful sometimes and distrustful of others and confident in her abilities. Plus, she's a pirate. I love her a lot okay
- mysterious suffering assassin with a heart of gold who is just the right amount of self-loathing and badass. Exactly what I am looking for 10/10 give me more
- cool magic system! but protag is actually not magical! (by her own estimation, anyway)
- did I mention Pirates !!!!! !!! ! and assassins!!
- honestly I want to learn more about this world, though I can see how worldbuilding would have been irrelevant to the plot at most points
- rival romance of sorts between two characters who are, ironically, trying to get rid of each other which doesn't so much kick off in this book (fine by me but if you're looking for makeouts look elsewhere)
- basically I loved this book. It's easy to read, easy plot to follow, easy to love the characters, suspenseful, magical, just? ? ? all around awesome! I feel like the not-amazing writing and simplicity doesn't really qualify it for 5 stars, it's not the sort that leaves you in awe or feeling like you learned or grew a lot but dangit it's such a fun ride and I'm starting the next one immediately!
awandtke's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! Though the language was a little hard to get used to, with words like "ain't". And others. But in the end I absolutely loved this book and a new favorite!
lbarsk's review against another edition
2.0
review forthcoming, it's just late and i finished it today so i want to make sure i mark it as finished!
magikspells's review against another edition
2.0
I can't even really review this cause it's a little boring and not much happening.
renuked's review against another edition
2.0
That was mildly disappointing. I was hoping for...well, better. As a story set in a different world, usually I enjoy the fantasy and magic of another realm. But not really this time. Plus the romance was a failure, and the plot was...bland. It was just boring.
I went into this looking for a quick short read before starting a larger book. And it was a short read, but it was still too long by my standard because it was really uneventful. After our heroine Ananna saves the life of her would be assassin, literally nothing else happens. They just leave to go on a journey to break the curse. And this journey is really slapped together. They cross a desert. The main guy almost dies. They end up at the house of his ex-lover (boo). They end up going on a sea voyage. They end up stranded on some magic islands. Yay....not really. It just took off in random directions, none of it connected and the magic wasn't even that good. Blood magic should be a lot more interesting. Some of the terms and places? They were just tossed in like a salad. The Otherworld? The Mists? The Isles of the Sky? The Confederation? The Order? The Jadorr'a? The Impossible Curse? I need more to back this stuff up! Where is the world-building!
The romance? *shudders* It was awful. Naji is one of the worst male figures I have had the misfortune to meet. He's whiny, self-interested, and cannot see past his own face. He can't even realize the lovely Ananna is in love with him. Instead he remains hung up on his ex, a superficial hag. He was weak, constantly getting sick, having Ananna rescue him. For an intense assassin, I expected someone with a much deeper past. He was constantly negative and kind of nasty and condescending. Well, I hated him.
That brings me to the one redeeming factor. Ananna. She was funny, she was bright and she was smart. She knew what she wanted, and she plans to take it even if she's being dragged along by a whiny, terrible assassin. She wasn't just a great fighter and pirate, she also wanted to learn mathematics and navigation. She wasn't shallow and honestly loves Naji for who he is. If only he wasn't too dense to see it. She might be the only potential reason I read the next book.
So, we have a brilliant main character, but a terribly vague world and an unfortunate male interest. Sigh. This usually doesn't happen. I'll probably give the next book a try in the hopes that we learn a little more and that Naji gets his stuff together. But maybe not, since now we have the utterly cliché 3 Impossible Tasks to complete and an Impossible Curse to break. *yawn*
I went into this looking for a quick short read before starting a larger book. And it was a short read, but it was still too long by my standard because it was really uneventful. After our heroine Ananna saves the life of her would be assassin, literally nothing else happens. They just leave to go on a journey to break the curse. And this journey is really slapped together. They cross a desert. The main guy almost dies. They end up at the house of his ex-lover (boo). They end up going on a sea voyage. They end up stranded on some magic islands. Yay....not really. It just took off in random directions, none of it connected and the magic wasn't even that good. Blood magic should be a lot more interesting. Some of the terms and places? They were just tossed in like a salad. The Otherworld? The Mists? The Isles of the Sky? The Confederation? The Order? The Jadorr'a? The Impossible Curse? I need more to back this stuff up! Where is the world-building!
The romance? *shudders* It was awful. Naji is one of the worst male figures I have had the misfortune to meet. He's whiny, self-interested, and cannot see past his own face. He can't even realize the lovely Ananna is in love with him. Instead he remains hung up on his ex, a superficial hag. He was weak, constantly getting sick, having Ananna rescue him. For an intense assassin, I expected someone with a much deeper past. He was constantly negative and kind of nasty and condescending. Well, I hated him.
That brings me to the one redeeming factor. Ananna. She was funny, she was bright and she was smart. She knew what she wanted, and she plans to take it even if she's being dragged along by a whiny, terrible assassin. She wasn't just a great fighter and pirate, she also wanted to learn mathematics and navigation. She wasn't shallow and honestly loves Naji for who he is. If only he wasn't too dense to see it. She might be the only potential reason I read the next book.
So, we have a brilliant main character, but a terribly vague world and an unfortunate male interest. Sigh. This usually doesn't happen. I'll probably give the next book a try in the hopes that we learn a little more and that Naji gets his stuff together. But maybe not, since now we have the utterly cliché 3 Impossible Tasks to complete and an Impossible Curse to break. *yawn*
mars_aria's review against another edition
2.0
Not as good as I'd expected it to be. The main character, Ananna annoyed me at times. So did Nija. Ananna was too whiny and complained too much to me. There were not as many love scenes as I'd expected. The fact that the romantic part of the story that the summary mentioned did not come about until the very end of the story seemed cheesy, as though it was partly used as a way to keep the story going. I honestly had not expected there to be a second book. There were no 'haughty manticores' as it said on the summary either and I would have liked to have seen some more action packed scenes. That's usually what you expect when you read the word "assassin" on a summary. Basically the summary did not fully lie to me, but it made it sound like the book was better than it was. I didn't like the fact that background about the curse was not told to the reader until toward the end of the story. The whole thing kinda sounded like a disney movie, based on the summary (like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time).
sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition
3.0
Really this is a 2.5, rounded up to 3. I enjoyed the swashbuckling concept (pirates and assasins, who would say no??) and there was some interesting world-building going on. BUT it fell down on almost every other point
- There was no conclusion to the story. None, nada. The blurb you can see above? That literally spoils the entire book. When we reach the end, they have only just discovered that they need to do three impossible tasks. It made me feel rather cheated.
- It relied far to heavily on the mysterious-boy-won't-tell-girl-what's-going-on trope. Sometimes all his mysteriousness made me want to punch Naji. In the face.
- The romance element was almost non-existent.
- The world built was fascinating, but there wasn't enough elaboration. This was partly due to point two above, but even with that there were ignored opportunities for expansion that would have made the story richer
Overall? Great concept, bad execution. I'll be reading the second in the series, but literally just because otherwise it would feel like I'd read half a book
- There was no conclusion to the story. None, nada. The blurb you can see above? That literally spoils the entire book. When we reach the end, they have only just discovered that they need to do three impossible tasks. It made me feel rather cheated.
- It relied far to heavily on the mysterious-boy-won't-tell-girl-what's-going-on trope. Sometimes all his mysteriousness made me want to punch Naji. In the face.
- The romance element was almost non-existent.
Spoiler
He's in love with somebody else. And acts like it- The world built was fascinating, but there wasn't enough elaboration. This was partly due to point two above, but even with that there were ignored opportunities for expansion that would have made the story richer
Overall? Great concept, bad execution. I'll be reading the second in the series, but literally just because otherwise it would feel like I'd read half a book
mamo__'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
celjla212's review against another edition
3.0
Ananna is a pirate, born and bred on a ship. She wants nothing more than to be captain of her own vessel one day. Then she learns that her parents have betrothed her to another pirate family's son--this is unacceptable. Ananna runs, determined to live a life of her own.
Then, an assassin is sent after her. In a strange twist, she ends up saving HIS life. Unfortunately, it means a curse is now upon him. He must keep her safe at all costs, or experience excruciating pain. Ananna and Naji set off to find a remedy for the assassin's curse.
Well, I must say--pirates are definitely a new addition to the YA lit world. This book was refreshing, but I had a lot of problems with it.
I loved Ananna! I loved the general...pirate-ness she had. She was nowhere near ladylike, and not ashamed of it. She cusses, steals, lies all with no regrets. She can fight and knows her way around a ship. She was truly a cool main character.
Naji...well, I had a little more trouble liking him. I get that he's this magical assassin, but we get almost no background on him...though a bit is revealed throughout the course of the story.
There were many facets of the story that I didn't really get, and weren't explained all that well, IMO. Who or what are The Mists and why do they want Naji? Ananna seemed to be close with her parents, were they not searching for her as well?
I know that this was the first book in a series, so I hope the books get better from here on out. I will probably read the next book.
Then, an assassin is sent after her. In a strange twist, she ends up saving HIS life. Unfortunately, it means a curse is now upon him. He must keep her safe at all costs, or experience excruciating pain. Ananna and Naji set off to find a remedy for the assassin's curse.
Well, I must say--pirates are definitely a new addition to the YA lit world. This book was refreshing, but I had a lot of problems with it.
I loved Ananna! I loved the general...pirate-ness she had. She was nowhere near ladylike, and not ashamed of it. She cusses, steals, lies all with no regrets. She can fight and knows her way around a ship. She was truly a cool main character.
Naji...well, I had a little more trouble liking him. I get that he's this magical assassin, but we get almost no background on him...though a bit is revealed throughout the course of the story.
There were many facets of the story that I didn't really get, and weren't explained all that well, IMO. Who or what are The Mists and why do they want Naji? Ananna seemed to be close with her parents, were they not searching for her as well?
I know that this was the first book in a series, so I hope the books get better from here on out. I will probably read the next book.
pomochi's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Although the world building wasn't very strong, I really enjoyed this book. It was full of action, mystery, and amazing characters!
Although the world building wasn't very strong, I really enjoyed this book. It was full of action, mystery, and amazing characters!